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Caitlin is a master’s environmental journalism student at Boston University. She recently reached out to EwA for an interview about its Fells’ Citizen Science program. We invited her to join one of our fieldwork sessions to have a glimpse of what the EwA naturalist community projects are about.
Attracting & Retaining Citizen Scientists Some conservation citizen science organizations run projects that can be quickly carried out by citizen scientists without supervision. And for those organizations, a common practice is to motivate people with a few good training events. Then, we encourage our citizen scientists to organize themselves and do the work individually or […]
Even Scientists Take Selfies with Wild Animals. Here’s Why They Shouldn’t. One of the great things about being a biologist is getting to work in the field and connect with wildlife. Through my career, I have enjoyed many unforgettable close encounters with various species, including turtles, birds, marine mammals, invertebrates and a lot of fish, […]
Why Men Trophy Hunt The killing of Cecil the lion (Panthera leo) ignited enduring and increasingly global discussion about trophy hunting [1]. Yet, policy debate about its benefits and costs (e.g. [2,3]) focuses only on the hunted species and biodiversity, not the unique behaviour of hunters. Some contemporary recreational hunters from the developed world behave […]
“The more you are willing to examine your own assumptions and beliefs—and holds the possibility that you may be wrong—the more you can truly understand” (from The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling) Being a naturalist basically means being on a quest for knowledge (and having fun while at it!). There is such wonder […]
A friend and I were chatting ‘over’ ethics recently. The context was our species’ fascination of a limitless growth model, showcased for instance in our expectations with respect to our human biology (e.g., our quest for biological immortality), as well as exhibited in our modern economies and business practices. I remarked about our difficulties at defining and applying ethics. […]
Our enthusiasm and indulgence for animal captivity is changing yet very slowly. But we can accelerate our pace, because it can only be a win-win for science, for the animals, and us as moral individuals… ‘Are zoo animals happy? There’s a simple empathy test we can apply‘ is a very good piece of journalism on a […]
Although today the American society seems deeply torn apart by cultural, geographic, racial and class differences, still there is more that unites us than divides us, and this includes few environmental views and concerns… An opinion piece. Today the U.S. government decided against the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.). It places at its head a man who is no less […]
I am so happy to have gained a better understanding of what it takes to be an ethical wildlife volunteer. This has been and still is an ongoing journey into realizing that our actions are not always ethical –not because we don’t want to be but rather because we don’t know– and that organizations may not […]
The common public ‘rhetoric’ these days about zoos is: zoo changed and they are now good for both conservation and the collected/exhibited individuals. Well then good! But the topic is not an easy one, after all this is really about ethics and of course, as ethics goes it’s tedious and painful at times (remember the […]
